While Will Smith isn’t exactly a rom-com guy, his 2005 movie Hitch with Eva Mendez is beloved by fans of the genre and Smith himself. Directed by Andy Tennant, the film was a commercial success, becoming the tenth highest-grossing film of 2005. However, it was a headache to make behind the scenes, per Tennant. In a new interview with Business Insider, the director revealed that a sequel is already in the works sans him and the creative differences he had with the Men in Black actor.

“I didn’t want cheap jokes, but he didn’t trust me,” Tennant explained the situation. He revealed that they had different ideas about the movie they were making, “The movie I wanted to make and the movie Will wanted to make, neither one of those movies is as good as the movie we made together. It was a battle.” He admitted Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith was a real help behind the scenes, “There was a time during prep when I was pushing back on a lot of crazy sh*t that was happening.”

He further shared that he was afraid of getting fired even before the filming began. “There was a draft that Will brought in that I was not a fan of,” he explained. “I finally told the studio that I was more afraid of Will making that version of the movie than I was about them firing me. Because I knew they were right on the edge of firing me before we even began shooting.” He further commends Smith for his choices as “we didn’t go with that draft. I don’t think I was ever in anyone’s favor.”

Will Smith Is Developing a ‘Hitch’ Sequel

While the film turned out to be a commercial success and has a 68% Rotten Tomatoes rating, nonetheless the creative differences seem to have left a mark on Smith. As Tennant revealed, “But I guess Will is developing a Hitch sequel without me,” Tennant said. Further explaining:

“I just found out about it three months ago. I had a really good idea for a sequel, and I was talking to an executive at Sony, and he said Will’s production company is developing a sequel. Hey, that’s Hollywood.”

But Tennant isn’t heartbroken, “I don’t have anything against Will.” The director explained that Smith “hired me to make this movie. It was not an easy job for anybody, but we went around the world with the movie” and when the promotion junket was over, “my time with Will was over. That was it. And I have never heard from him since.”

via Collider